When the private sector cannot or is not adequately providing a vital service, such as health care, it is the responsibility of government to step in to help those suffering among us. Lives are on the line.
Massachusetts has gone further on the long road to healthcare reform than anyone could have previously imagined. A bill has been passed and signed that will require all Massachusetts residents to have health insurance by July 1, 2007 and require all Massachusetts businesses with 11 or more employees to pay $295 per employee annually if they do not provide health insurance. The second portion was vetoed, but is almost certain to be overturned by the legislature.
As expected, it is likely some of you are ready to pounce on Massachusetts' new healthcare reform as another unrealistic big dream of some John Kerry-esque liberal douches in the legislature. Well, think again. A Republican governor, Mitt Romney, signed this sweeping proposal into law.
Compromise played a role, but healthcare reform was made possible in Massachusetts because of innovation in spending —it is not cheap, after all. Funding for this project is coming primarily from two sources.
First, they are using $610 million the state receives from the federal government under a Medicaid waiver. Additionally, they are redirecting approximately $1 billion in a free-care pool,\ which provides money to treat uninsured residents, in an effort to subsidize the purchase of health insurance for low-income residents.
Due to this innovation, the 500,000 to 600,000 uninsured residents of Massachusetts can be certain they will at least have their health.
Meanwhile, back here in Madison, stalwarts on our city council will not even allow people to take time off work to care for the health of themselves and their children. It seems Progressive Dane, the powerful hippie bloc of Madison's city council that advocates for paid sick leave, has been outdone by a Republican.
If Madison is sluggish at healthcare reform, Wisconsin is going nowhere. At any point in time during 2004 approximately 377,000 (7 percent) Wisconsin residents were uninsured, according to the last Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services study. Five percent of Wisconsinites were uninsured all of 2004, and 5 percent were uninsured for at least part of 2004. All these figures are statistically significant increases from the previous year, according to the study.
The uninsured are disproportionately poor, as well. Thirteen percent of ""poor"" residents and 9 percent of ""near-poor"" residents are uninsured for the entire year. Of particular concern to our age group is that the age bracket of 18-44 has the most uninsured Wisconsinites, with 12 percent or 243,000 residents uninsured at any given time in 2004.
For 377,000 Wisconsin residents, health care has become a privilege, when it should be a right. Now is the time for Wisconsin legislators to start looking at innovative approaches to health insurance, including programs like BadgerCare. Massachusetts got the ball rolling, now let's keep it going.
Nick Rotchadl is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. Send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
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